Garry Monk shares Leeds injury news latest ahead of Preston clash

Garry Monk is hoping that Leeds will be able to welcome back a number of their injured stars before the trip to Preston.

Monk’s side travel to Simon Grayson’s Deepdale on Boxing Day, as they look to go third with three points over the Lancashire outfit.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Monk revealed that a number of players could rejoin the squad before Monday’s clash as the busy Christmas period continues.

“It would be nice to get a few players out of the injury room and back into the squad,” Monk said. “Hopefully we can do that in this period because we are going to need everyone.

“But all in all, in this period that we have just had I think the players have done very well in that and they deserve a lot of credit.”

Top scorer Chris Wood is likely to return from a hamstring injury before Monday’s clash, while Monk will be hoping four-time Spain international Pablo Hernandez can finally overcome a similar problem.

Doubts remain over Eunan O’Kane, who is suffering from a groin problem that has seen him miss games against Brighton, Aston Villa and Brentford, while Charlie Taylor is also a doubt.

The left-back suffered an achilles problem against the Bees on Saturday during the 1-0 win, and it remains unclear when he will return to Monk’s side. Right-back Lewie Coyle is unlikely to return until the new year.

Despite a number of key players potentially missing from the Boxing Day clash against Preston, Leeds will still be expected to continue their good form with all three points.

A win would see Monk stretch the Yorkshire giants sparkling run of form to four domestic wins in their last five games.